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    284
    Reconstructing the
    Johannine Community IV

    The Holy Mystery and Gift

    Continued from Part 3

    Brethren and sisters, in my fourth and final lecture on the Johannine Community (Church) I would like to continue our journey of discovery into the nature of the New Testament Community (Church) and especially of the Chavurat Bekorot (Holy Order) whose custodian was the Apostle John. If you are still with me today then you most certainly have been touched by the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) and are likely a part of the end-time New Covenant Messianic Israelite restoration. For it is only true Israelites, those who are the blood descendants of father Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who will recognise what it is I am trying to convey.

    These lectures are, as I have said, only introductions to this work that we are about. In the seminars we have had since discussing some of these lectures we have discovered so much to talk about that there has never been enough time. The Besorah (Gospel) of Yah'shua (Jesus) is an exciting thing, particularly when you have dived deep enough into it to see the Whole coming together. The New Covenant Assemblies of Yahweh (NVAY) is here to announce an end to the confusion that has fragmented Christendom, not by claiming like various groups that they are somehow legalistically the "one and only true church" but by showing that Yahweh has given us the keys of understanding which have created something truly wonderful - a fellowship of believers in the Master of the same pedigree as the apostle John and the Ephesian Community (Church) which he presided over.

    There are not a few claimants to this Johannine tradition. Most of them are tainted or defiled by occultism, Kabbalism and Gnosticism. Only this year we met another one who claimed to occupy the apostle John's shoes in the Apostolate. He was at first very convincing until he betrayed his true spiritual origin by denying the teachings of Paul. Satan's counterfeits always attack some part of the Besorah (Gospel) or one or more of the apostles. This is the second pseudo-Johannine group I have come across that has lampooned the apostle Paul - and I have rebuked both of them. The only true Johannine tradition is that one which accepts all the Bible and all its teachings as being the Davar Elohim (Word of God). As Messianic Evangelicals we stand defiantly on the authority and truthfulness of the Bible. Any individual or group that claims to have knowledge of a "secret tradition" which ignores even one verse of the Bible is to be rejected. The apostles of the New Testament Community (Church) were, in spite of circumstantial disagreements, totally echador one in their doctrine of Messiah. They may have struggled, as all believers do, to try and understand the whole picture, but understand it they most certainly did. The apostolic tradition consisted of one Master, one Emunah (Faith), and one Baptism (Eph.4:5). Their teachings all agreed with one another. On this point we resolutely stand.

    As we have now seen in the three preceding lectures, and particularly the last one, salvation and sanctification do not occur all in one go. The first saving act of trusting in Yah'shua (Jesus) as Messiah (Christ) does not lead a soul to the perfection demanded of Messiah. It does not lead to the seven overcomings that John insists we attain before we can receive the most cherished blessings of all. I wonder if you can remember them?

    A quick recap is in order. There are many believers who are going to be surprised when they are hurt by the second death (Rev.2:8-11). The idea that a believer is going to suffer in the next life is a wholly alien concept to some which they would probably in their unwise zeal mark down as yet another "heresy". Yet they never pause to ask themselves what John meant when he addressed the qodeshim (saints, set-apart ones) of Smyrna. They are so blinded by the junk theology that is circulating in the churches that they would rather deny the Davar (Word) than deny their own error. Let's just take a look at this verse to remind us of what is involved:

      "...He who overcomes will not be hurt at the second death".

    The corollary of this is that he who doesn't overcome will be hurt at the second death. Mark it well. If you, as a believer, have not overcome the vices of the Smyrneans by the time you come to heaven, you are going to be HURT. Yes, you may be saved, you may be trusting in Messiah, you may be covered by the blood, but unless you have overcome this problem you are going to suffer PAIN in heaven. In short, you will be punished by your own un-overcome sins in spite of being covered by the blood.

    There is an extraordinary naïvité in evangelical Christendom which is equivalent to people thinking that so long as they gain admission to College that everything will be plain sailing and that an academic degree will automatically be waiting for them at the end. Gaining entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven does not mean that you automatically obtain the highest rewards. Being initially saved does mean that you are standing in the Throne Room of Yahweh in the Holy of Holies before the Almighty Elohim (God) of Creation. Heaven isn't just one room or mansion - there are uncountable numbers of them. Yah'shua (Jesus) Himself said so - and guess who brings this to our attention? The man in the know - John, of course (John 14:12)!

    The Besorah (Gospel) of Yah'shua (Jesus) is big. In its essentials it is easy to understand and apply provided you are willing to die to self. But that's the big problem. People want to retain personal sovereignty over their lives. They are not too interested in a lifelong spiritual struggle. Our modern Christian/Messianic wants something cheap and quick - he wants a quick, cheap, take-away 'MacDonalds Gospel' that costs him nothing and which gives him everything instantly on a tray. John tells them in no uncertain terms: you are absolutely and terribly wrong. And if you don't wake up you are going to suffer enormously in the next life. His message, and ours, is not therefore popular. However, none of you are here because you like me especially (though I hope some of you do) but because you know what I am telling you in my capacity as a Johannine Community representative is the emet (truth).

    Let's not let this Smyrnean example pass us by. Let's resolve it. The Smyrnean Christians/Messianics suffered affliction and poverty and because they were willing to undergo this trial of their emunah (faith), they are described as being spiritually rich (v.4). These Smyrneans were being slandered by unbelieving Jews not unlike modern Talmudic Orthodox Jews who are persecuting and even murdering true believers - Messianic Jews - in the so-called state of Israel today. Notice that the malak (angel) says of them that they claim to be Jews but are not, but are a "synagogue of Satan" (v.9). This one verse completely overturns a belief of about 70 per cent of the evangelical movement that the modern state of Israel is true "Israel" and that the unbelieving Jews who live there are true "Jews". Quite apart from the fact that the vast majority of "Jews" in the Republic of Israel aren't even descendants of Abraham and are not biological Jews at all, the malak (angel) of Yahweh makes it perfectly clear that the only true "Jews" are those who are believers in Yah'shua (Jesus) who simultaneously have biological descent from Abraham...or who have been adopted into that tribe. The only Jews or (more accurately) 'Judahites' in Elohim's (God's) eyes are those who are truly Messianic. All the others are the synagogue of Satan.

    This is probably too bitter-a-pill for most Israel-loving evangelicals who regard the Talmudic Jews as the "apple of Elohim's (God's) eye". And yet the Bible says they are the synagogue of Satan! The only true Jew is a believing Jew - all the rest belong to Satan. And yet some governments and thousands of Christian and Messianic organisations are sending piles of money to allow non-Israelite unbelieving Jews who belong to the synagogue of Satan to emigrate to the Promised Land where they persecute the true 'Jews'. It's quite insane, isn't it?

    To be truly saved in Messiah is to be willing to undergo the privations of the ancient Smyrnean believers. To be an overcomer worthy of not being hurt by the second death is to be willing to lay down your own life for the cause of Messiah. If you're one of those cowards who is weak in the emunah (faith) who refuses to suffer for Messiah, then even though you will probably make it to heaven (provided you don't deny Messiah) you will have to pass through the second death in order to get that faithlessness burned out of you. And what is the "second death"? Hell, of course, or the Lake of Fire, described in John's Apocalypse later on in Revelation 20:6,14 and 21:8.

      How many churches have taught you that believing Christians pass through hell in order to have the spiritual dross burned out of them?

    How many?? How else could a soul be purified to stand in front of a spotless Elohim (God)?

    A thousand-and-one questions ought to be buzzing around your minds now. Am I fully saved? Saved to enter heaven, but not saved enough to escape hell? I can just hear the choruses of "Heresy!" from those who have no idea what they are saying! All logic departs from them when cherished golden calves are challenged by the Davar Elohim (God's Word), revealing that the spirit which guards these false doctrines is demonic.

    Did you know that the apostle Paul taught this very doctrine? Read it for yourself:

      "For no-one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ). If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day [of Judgement] will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved BUT ONLY AS ONE ESCAPING THROUGH THE FLAMES" (1 Cor.3:11-15, NIV).

    Beware, Christian/Messianic, if you build your doctrine and life on anything which is not 100 per cent of Messiah. Even though your foundation may be the Person of Messiah - even though you may be trusting Him as your Saviour and claiming the covering of His atoning blood, if you have built anything up that is not of Him, it will burn. And how is it going to burn? You will pass through Second Death. If what you have is pure and of Messiah you will come through unscathed. If you have impurity, it will be burned out violently. The Moslems are actually quite right in one respect - everyone passes through hell. They teach that everyone goes through and everyone comes out. Those who have more sin come out later. Those with less come out quicker. But where they are wrong is in saying everyone comes though - those who are not built on the foundation of Messiah never come out! There they stay, at least until the Cosmic Jubilee!

    If we are unconditionally saved and sanctified just by trusting in Messiah, what would be the point of overcoming? According to the trash one hears in the churches, there is no need to overcome because we are all going to make it into the same glory. And the more extreme of them are even stupid enough to say that so long as you have received Messiah it doesn't matter what you do afterwards because "once saved, always saved". Does a student who has once got into university have the assurance that he will always remain there until he gets a guaranteed degree? What nonsense. Yet I guarantee that the demonically inspired proponents of these pernicious doctrines will invent every sort of ingenious "explanation" as to why they don't intend to overcome. Mostly the standard answer is: "We bother to overcome simply to show our love of Christ, as a token of our salvation!" Well, you can believe that explanation if you want to. In the end what matters is that you're overcoming and not sitting back waiting passively for Messiah to do your part in addition to dying and rising for you.

    Don't misunderstand (or misrepresent) me. I'm not saying you can overcome in your own strength. Impossible. It's only Yah'shua's (Jesus') resurrection power that enables us to overcome. Obedience to the Torah (Law) in our own strength is, as we know, doomed to failure. Only by yielding ourselves as vessels to be filled by the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) by yielding complete sovereignty to Messiah can we become overcomers and escape being burned in hell...for as long as it takes to get cleaned out. Why else would Paul tell the Corinthians what he did? There is no "once saved, always saved" doctrine there.

    The Smyrneans are told to "be faithful, even to the point of death" (v.10). What is their reward? "The crown of life" (ibid.). Are you expecting to inherit a crown of life by sitting back and doing nothing? Do you know what the crown of life is? It is eternal chayim (life). It is the mark of one who lives for ever. Just pause and think. What if you haven't won this crown? What do you get then? Eternal chayim (life)? Of course not. You either get temporary life or no life at all. But Yahweh loves you too much to want you to become extinct so He has ordained that you shall pass through the fires of hell for your own good. If you won't get it the "easy" way in this life, you must get it the hard way in the next.

    Now this crown is not, incidentally, a royal crown (see Rev.12:3; 13:1; 19:12). It is not a kingly crown, but a garland or a wreath awarded to the winner in an athletic contest (see Rev.3:11; 4:4,10; 6:2; 9:7; 12:1; 14:14). It is what you get when you successfully finish the race of life as a victor over sin through Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ). Are we surprised to find the apostle Paul teaching the same doctrine? Read it for yourself (1 Cor.1:24ff; Gal.2:2; Heb.12:1)

    Well, in looking at just one small passage in the Johannine Book of Revelation we have smashed into pieces a major false doctrine of modern Christendom. It may be uncomfortable but dare we ignore the emet (truth)? Do you as a Christian/Messianic want to spend some time in hell while you get your act sorted out? Once again we see the difference between jurisdictional salvation and the actual process of salvation. They aren't two different things which we can separate, ignoring the latter.

    The Smyrneans were willing to be put in prison and to lose their lives for Messiah's sake. Are you? Are you willing to suffer prison sentences, as some ministers in Norway are doing, for speaking out against homosexuality and picketing abortion clinics? Are you willing to risk your job by making the Name of Yah'shua (Jesus) and His salvation known? We are all cowards at times, I know, but perhaps now is the time to get that straightened out. It's time to get into that race and head for the crown.

    You may think that offering your life is all that you need to be willing to do but most don't understand the wider repercussions of that. Are you willing to become like qodeshim (saints, set-apart ones) of Pergamum ? They were willing to offer their lives as indeed the faithful witness, Antipas, did (v.13). They were willing, like the Smyrneans, to offer all. Or were they? Their congregation harboured corrupt teachers who adhered to "the teaching of Balaam". They encouraged eating unclean food and sexual immorality (v.14). Amongst these were those adhering to the Nicolaitan teachings. Do you know who the Nicolaitans were? Listen carefully because you'll see that this same wicked spirit has gripped the Church today everywhere.

    The Nicolaitans were compromisers. They taught that the liberty they enjoyed in Messiah have them the right to practice immortality. In some respects, they were forerunners of the "once saved, always saved" school. There was a spirit of feminism [1] amongst them, sexual immorality and much else. They taught that the more they sinned, the more Messiah's grace increased. It was utterly perverse.

    I wonder to what extent modern Christians/Messianics have compromised with the pagan society around them? Most try to be politically correct, accepting feminism, homosexuality, materialism, and almost everything else that is worldly. If you're one of that group, I've got bad news for you. You're going to be slaughtered! Messiah is going to fight against you with a long sword (v.16) which symbolises Divine Judgement (Is.49:2; Heb.4:12). The sword will be the sword of His mouth - you will be judged by the Scriptures. The Davar Elohim (Word of God) will condemn you in the hands of Messiah's faithful ministers. And what will you lose for not overcoming? The hidden manna, a sacred food available only to true believers (Ps.78:24) and a white stone with a new name written on it (v.17). You might not think that a white stone is not very important until you realise what it represents. Did you know that a white stone in ancient Hebrew culture was an admission ticket to a banquet or a wedding? This is your ticket to the Marriage Feast of the Lamb! It's your entrance guarantee to Heaven! This means that if you don't deal with these particular errors you're going to lose your salvation. And it's the modern "liberated" woman who is most at danger.

    I could speak of the other assemblies (churches) in detail but I will let you figure it out for yourself. It is not good to be spoon-fed in everything. The Scriptures explain themselves perfectly well. But my point is this: Unless you are actually working our your salvation in fear and trembling (Phil.2:12) as vigorously as an athlete might train to become a champion, you are in trouble! Not only do you stand to lose your salvation, but you may also have to suffer terribly by passing through the Second Death before Yahweh will admit you into Heaven. Don't believe me, believe John - and if you only trust in Paul, believe him also.

    The apostle John kicks just about every pseudo-Christian/Messianic golden cow that exists today. Perhaps that is why so many turn to Paul who preaches, for the most part, the first stage of salvation. That's the easiest part! Such are like those who work hard to gain admission into a College and then go to sleep. They wonder why subsequently they fail all their examinations.

    Overcoming is your passport to full salvation. John reports a loud voice in heaven saying:

      "They overcame [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death" (Rev.12:11, NIV).

    Here you have the three main ingredients to overcoming. And how the modern evangelical hates them! He especially hates any idea that he must obey any mitzvot (commandments) to be finally saved, but John leaves them no escape route: the true qodeshim (saints, set-apart ones), he says, are "those who obey Elohim's (God's) mitzvot (commandments) and hold to the testimony of Yah'shua (Jesus)" (12:17, NIV). Which mitzvot (commandments)? All of them, of course, from Genesis to Revelation. And as we saw in the last lecture, the most important one is ahavah (love) in a qadosh (holy, set-apart) way.

    Paul's audience was Gentiles - pagans who had no knowledge of the Torah which had been he Hebrew legacy and mainstay for millennia. He taught the basics of salvation and left it for others top bring the new converts to maturity. And John, as the longest surviving apostle, does just that for us. To know what the fullness of the Besorah (Gospel) of Yah'shua (Jesus) is we must go to the Johannine writings.

    As I pointed out in the first lecture, John writes in a completely different way from the Synoptists Matthew, Mark and Luke, only one of which was amongst the apostles who walked with Yah'shua (Jesus) in the flesh, and none of whom were in the inner circle of the Three. Their accounts, whilst accurate, are not always complete. They are mostly historians, reporting events chronologically. As we have seen, John is not interested in chronology or history. Events for him merely exist to illuminate the central message and are therefore often employed out of sequence, a fact that modernists make a great ado about.

    I want to conclude today's lecture by taking a look at the Master's (Lord's) Supper, the most important Christian/Messianic ordinance of all, and to ask the question: why has John omitted parts that the Synoptists include? Which of the Gospel accounts is the most complete of this vitally important event?

    You will recall in Matthew 26 and Mark 14 where the accounts of the Master's (Lord's) Supper begin, Yah'shua (Jesus) announces that one of the Twelve will betray Him. Mark mentions that the traitor will eat with Him (v.18). Only John mentions the fulfilment by Judas of prophecy, saying:

      "He that eateth My bread lifted up his heel against Me" (Jn.13:18, RV)

    and says that this is yet another sign that He is the Messiah (v.19). He then makes this statement which is unique to the Johannine account:

      "He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth Me (Yah'shua/Jesus); and he that receiveth Me receiveth Him (Yahweh) that sent Me" (v.20).

    After announcing there is a traitor in their midst, the talmidim (disciples) are sorrowful and each asks if he is the guilty one (Mt.26:22; Mk.14:19). Not John. Yah'shua (Jesus) replies that the guilty person is one of the Twelve and is the one who is about to dip in the same dish with Him (Mt.26:23; Mk.14:20). This cannot be so. If Yah'shua (Jesus) had said this out aloud as Matthew and Mark would have us believe, then Judas would have overheard and not dipped in the dish at the same time as the Master. The Gospel of John straightens the matter out and records:

      "One of them, the talmid (disciple) whom Jesus loved [John], was reclining next to Him. Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, 'Ask Him which one He means'. Leaning back against Yah'shua (Jesus), he asked Him, 'Master, who is it?' Yah'shua (Jesus) answered, 'It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it into the dish.' Then, dipping the piece of bread, He gave it to Judas Iscariot, son of Simon. As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. 'What you are about to do, do quickly,' Yah'shua (Jesus) told him, but no-one at the meal understood why Yah'shua (Jesus) said this to him..." (Jn.13:23-28, NIV).

    Judas then leaves without saying a word.

    Now the Matthean account disagrees. According to him, Judas asked, "Is it I, Rabbi?" and Yah'shua (Jesus) replied, "Thou hast said" (Mt.26:25, AV). The only way we can reconcile this passage is if each of the talmidim (disciples) came up to the Master privately to ask this terrible question and Yah'shua (Jesus) whispered His reply back so that no-one else could hear. The important thing here is that Peter defers to John. Peter, supposedly the chief apostle, does not ask his question to Yah'shua (Jesus) directly but asks John to ask for Him. Either Peter was sitting next to John with Yah'shua (Jesus) too far away to ask the question secretly and not be heard by the other, or Peter acknowledges John's toqef (authority) as chief of the Twelve.

    What is more interesting, in my view, is how Satan entered Judas. According to John, the devil took possession of Judas the moment he took the bread handed to him by Yah'shua (Jesus). I wonder how many people have paused to wonder at this, seeing in this bread the very opposite of the bread which the talmidim (disciples) were to receive from Yah'shua (Jesus) moments later. One bread contained Satan, and the other Messiah (Christ). And the bread that contained Satan had been dipped into an unnamed dish.

    I am sure you are wondering what was in that dish. Indeed, I'm sure you're wondering whether the sign was given to all the talmidim (disciples) or just to John. This was without a doubt a regular Pesach or Passover meal and the dish Yah'shua (Jesus) dipped Judas' bread into was one of the Passover dishes. It could have been one of the small bowls containing salty water or a dish with extra bitter herbs in, the Haroset. I am sure that which ever one it was that was dipped into, it was bitter, symbolising the bitterness of Judas' slavery to the devil.

    I want you to notice that the Beloved Talmid (Disciple) never asked, "Is it I, Master?" because he knew it wasn't, which is why he doesn't mention this incident. He does not wish to imply that he is equal with the others in their authority or their doubt. It is only Matthew, as we have seen, who records Judas' question and Yah'shua's (Jesus') confirmation.

    Neither Judas nor Satan can act until Yah'shua (Jesus) gives the go-ahead. Messiah had all toqef (authority), even over the devil. This is important to understand. Yah'shua (Jesus) was never a hapless victim, but was always in full control.

    John, after recording Judas' hasty departure, then adds some material not recorded by any of the Synoptists. He records the speculation that circulated around the rest of the talmidim (disciples) as to what had happened in the Judas incident. Some thought that Judas was being condemned because he was pilfering the petty-cash bag (Jn.13:28-29). Only John notes that it was night outside and it was into that that Judas departed (v.30). Only John adds Yah'shua's (Jesus') next significant remark, "Now is the Son of Man glorified and Elohim (God) is glorified in Him. If Elohim (God) is glorified in Him, Elohim (God) will glorify the Son in Himself, and will glorify Him at once" (vv.31-32, NIV).

    These verses are remarkable. Not until Judas left that room, was filled with the spirit of Satan, and officially expelled from the twelve was Messiah at that point glorified. The Synoptists make no mention of this saying. Indeed, what is more remarkable still is that John makes NO MENTION OF THE LAST SUPPER AT ALL. The Synoptists describe how Yah'shua (Jesus) took bread, blessed it, and told them to eat it as His body, and then blessed the cup and commanded them to drink the blood of the B'rit Chadashah or New Covenant for the remission of their sins (Mt.26:26-28; Mk.14:22-24; Lk.22:19-20) - indeed, this is the only part of the event that Luke records. Luke records what John omits. Why? Even Paul repeats this event in 1 Corinthians 11:23-25, with a slight variation at the end. Not so John. He carried on with his discourse (Jn.13:33-38) which the Synoptists make no mention of at all.

    How could the Beloved Talmid (Disciple) leave out so crucial an event? He mentions Judas's betrayal but nothing of the Last Supper. It is inconceivable that the apostle would do this without a very, very important reason indeed. He is trying to conceal something, just as he did in the story of the wedding at Cana.

    The answer is actually to be found in the second lecture I gave you. See if you can remember what I told you about that occasion. Do you remember that there were two types of wine at that wedding feast? First, there was the natural wine provided for in the usual way from the grape of the vine. This was the same wine that every Jewish home procured on the Passover called the kadayss or 'Cup of Sanctification'. It is at this juncture that I want to read to you that little insertion Paul made in his letters to the Corinthians which is absent from the Synoptics. He writes:

      "This cup is the new covenant in my blood" {cp. Luke, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, even that which is poured our for many" (22:20, RV), Mark, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is shed for many" (14:24, RV), and Matthew, "for this is my blood of the covenant, which is shed for many unto remission of sins" (26:28)} and then adds, "this do, as oft as ye drink it, IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME" (1 Cor.11:25, RV).

    Are you with me yet? Only Paul indicates that this was something which the Messianic Community (Church) should continue as a memorial of Messiah. No such mitzvah (commandment) is found in the Synoptics...and the whole affair is entirely absent from the Gospel of John. Paul even omits that the blood is for the remission of sins!

    In the gap left by John when he "should" have been reporting the Communion meal he goes on to report Yah'shua (Jesus) saying:

      "A new mitzvah (commandment) I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are My talmidim (disciples), if you love one another" (Jn.13:34-35, NIV).

    But we would, I think, be mistaken were we to think that this passage is a "replacement" of the Communion event. John isn't interested in chronology here - his purpose, unlike the Synoptists, is to focus on the central theme of discipleship. A whole chapter (Jn.14), wholly absent in the Synoptics, appears. Traditionally, those who try to harmonise the Gospels insert an historical event, the departure of Yah'shua (Jesus) and the talmidim (disciples) to the Mount of Olives (Mt.26:30-33; Mk.14:26-29; Lk.22:39) which John makes no mention of. Instead he discourses further in Chapter 15 about the True Vine, and in Chapter 16, and in Chapter 17, sharing some of Yah'shua's (Jesus') loftiest teachings. Only at the beginning of Chapter 18 does John join the others in the Garden of Gethsemane.

    I would like to have analysed these chapters the Synoptists ignored but that must remain for another place when we have more time, except to say this: Yah'shua (Jesus) has not forgotten about the Communion event entirely - rather, he takes it into another dimension and talks about pruning vine trees to make sure that good fruit is produced (Jn.15:1ff). Instead of partaking of the grape juice in the kadaysk, Yah'shua (Jesus) talks of having His very life substance pass through them by being grafted on to Him as branches. He speaks of a common biological identity. To enjoy that identity continuously, we must produce good fruit or be cut off and burned - no "once saved, always saved" doctrine here! To partake of Messiah means to be about His works just as he was. We are to have His chayim (life) substance flowing through us. We must, in short, be of His blood. And when that happens, we cease to be His servants and become His friends (15:9ff). To be a friend is to "know his master's business" (v.15, NIV) because to such He has "made known" to them "everything that I have learned from My Father" (v.15, NIV). Everything. John knew what was going on at the Last Supper - the others were entirely ignorant as proven by their speculations after Judas departed. Of course Matthew, Mark and Luke didn't write about what happened - they, along with Peter and the rest, were entirely ignorant!

    So why hasn't John recorded the two sacramental prayers along with the three evangelists and Paul? Because he didn't need to. Because those to whom His Besorah (Gospel) was addressed didn't need it. They weren't participating in an annual, monthly or weekly memorial as Christians and Messianics do today. They were partaking of something else.

    The keys are all in Cana, brethren and sisters, if you'll just look carefully enough. There were two types of wine in Cana just as there were in the Assembly (Church) of Yahweh. There was natural wine, and there was supernatural wine. The natural wine ran out and Mary, the mother of Yah'shua (Jesus), demanded more (Jn.2:1). What was Yah'shua's (Jesus') response?

      "Woman, why do you involve Me...My time has not yet come" (v.2, NIV).

    Then, that great, big mystifying gap and an apparent non sequitur:

      "His mother said to the servants, 'Do whatever He tells you'" (v.3, NIV).

    The time for that supernatural wine had not come. This is an ordinary wedding with ordinary wine. The Mystical Marriage of the Messiah (MMM) with mystical wine is not yet because Messiah has not atoned on the Cross and the age is not at an end yet. But Yah'shua (Jesus) is gracious and performs a miracle of enormous prophetic importance. He is not only referring to salvation through His blood in the sense that all Christians/Messianics understand, but is telling us that a very, very special wine is to be made at the end-time which will be the "choicest wine" (v.10). This wine is to be the fruit of Yah'shua's (Jesus') talmidim (disciples) which He explains in the Parable of the Vine and the Branches (Jn.15:1ff).  This is the wine of the "much fruit" of the talmidim (disciples) - not fruit made from human hands, but supernaturally from the vine which is Messiah. Humans are branches of the vine. We are extensions of Messiah. As extensions we are to make fruit. Messianic fruit. Once we are in that business, "whatever you wish, it will be given you" (15:7, NIV). No conditions, it is automatic. But these are not requests made by the unsaved or the unsanctified - they are requests made by those who are fully in Messiah, who abide His will. "...My words remain in you", Yah'shua (Jesus) said (v.7) if we remain in Him.

    I am pressing you towards a great and wonderful revelation that belongs to the end-time Remnant which has been hidden up from those who are not a part of it. I cannot spell it all out for you otherwise I would be defeating the purpose of its concealment in the first place. Some people hearing this are going to come to all sorts of silly conclusions because the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) is not in them. And they will never understand it. But it is there, waiting for you to pluck it off the Eyts Chayim or Tree of Life.

    There are, and have always been, two Messianic Communities (Churches of God) or Fellowships of Light, one of which is the Servant Class and the other is the Friend Class - one is the Petrine/Pauline Community (Church), and the other is the Johannine. The Johannine Community (Church) is the custodian of a qadosh (holy, set-apart) mystery and gift which is revealed only to those who are overcoming sons and daughters of Yahweh. Counterfeiters can claim to possess it but will always lack the tokens of its presence. Speculation about it is pointless - either you know, or you don't, and the only way you can know is through the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit). Secret rituals or theology classes will not give it to you - don't go searching after 'Holy Grails'. It's all in the Bible. Just search diligently with a view to complete surrender to Messiah and complete obedience and if you belong to the elect you will find it. You'll never be able to boast about it because you'll never be able to explain it to anyone but those who have found it too. You'll find it in no postal correspondence course so don't sent anyone money for it.

    The Johannine Community (Church) disappeared along with the apostle John. Yahweh did not renew the apostles after the Beloved Talmid (Disciple) died at the turn of the first century. He took his secret and his anointing with him but left clues in his writings for those who would be instruments in restoring it in the last days. Many false nevi'im (prophets) and apostles have come claiming it but never produced the tokens. The master's (Lord's) Supper has been a memorial now for nearly 2,000 years. But the wine for that is about to run out. The only valid communion after that must come supernaturally and have supernatural consequences for those that partake of it.

    Endnotes

    [1] See Henry Mackow, Cruel Hoax: Feminism and the New World Order (Silas Green, USA: 2010)

    This page was created on 24 January 2001
    Last updated on 16 June 2017

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